In a shocking development, a Marathi news media outlet has claimed that a Mahayuti minister from the NCP (Ajit Pawar) met Sharad Pawar to discuss the possibility of reunifying the two factions of the party. He was reportedly encouraged by the willingness of around 15 to 20 MLAs from the Ajit Pawar camp to switch their loyalty to the NCP (Sharad Pawar). If found to be true, the political equations in Maharashtra could witness a drastic change in the coming weeks, if not days.
The development comes at a time when Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP President Sunetra Pawar is preparing to file her nomination for the upcoming by-election to the Baramati Assembly constituency in Pune district. Baramati was the stronghold of her late husband.
NCP-Ajit Pawar camp heading to a collapse?
According to the news report, several MLAs of the Ajit Pawar faction are unhappy about the never-ending disputes and internal conflicts within the party. The infighting has reached such levels that it has begun weakening their public outreach and influence in their constituencies. They fear this will not reflect well with the public and could possibly cast shadows over their future in parliamentary politics, TV9 Marathi said in a report.
The said meeting between the incumbent NCP minister and Sharad Pawar took place in utmost secrecy, the Marathi news report claimed. Some MLAs have even begun directly reaching out to the veteran leader to express their willingness to rejoin his ranks, it added. While the possibility of reconciliation between the two factions currently appears low, it is clear that dissatisfaction among MLAs in the Ajit Pawar faction is steadily growing.
The Mahayuti alliance has 235 members in the Maharashtra Assembly, including 40 MLAs of the NCP (Ajit Pawar). They are the third-largest constituent of the ruling alliance after the BJP's tally of 131 and Shiv Sena (Shinde)'s 57. In the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, the NCP (SP) has 10 MLAs. The Fadnavis government is not immediately threatened even if the entire camp abandons the alliance.
Shocker before Baramati bypolls?
Ajit Pawar, an eight-time MLA from his home turf of Baramati, died along with four others on 28 January 2026 after the plane carrying them crashed near the Baramati airstrip.
In the 2019 Assembly election, Ajit Pawar won the Baramati seat by a record margin of 1.65 lakh votes. In the 2024 Assembly election, he retained the seat by a margin of more than 1 lakh votes, defeating his nephew, Yugendra Pawar.
While the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) has declared that it will not contest the upcoming bypoll in Baramati, its ally, Congress, has stated it will not let the election go uncontested.
Sunetra Pawar took the oath as the Deputy CM of the state on 31 January and was unanimously elected as the President of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on 26 February.
